Lantern.



F. W. KOCH & J. H. MAYPORTH.

LANTERN.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.9, 1905.

Patented may 25, 1909.

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F. W. KOCH & J. H. MAYFORTH.

LANTERN. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9, 1908. 922,59 Patented May 25, 1909.

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UNTTED %TATE% PATENT @FFTQFQ FRANK W. KOCH AND JOHN H. MAYFORTH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LANTERN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK W. Kocri and J OHN H. MAYFORTH, citizens of the United States, and each a resident of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lanterns, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates more particularly to a lantern used for railway purposes.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a lantern which may be quickly changed into a device suitable for either safety or danger purposes, that is which will produce a red light or a white light at will so as to be employed in the usual way for signaling trains and the like, thus overcoming the objections to the ordinary form of lanterns, each of which has to be made for a special purpose requiring different lanterns for signaling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient attachment to a lantern whereby a film or device through which the light must penetrate may be quickly and readily passed around the lamp member or be as quickly inclosed within a casing provided therefor to quickly change the nature of the light.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means whereby a film having a plurality of members-may be made to pass on opposite sides of the lamp member to produce a colored light, and to provide simple means for winding up the film members.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and will then be pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of one form of lantern embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view, showing the lantern with the film members wound within tubular posts or casings. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2, except that the film members have been made to extend about the lamp member for the purpose of changing the nature of the light. Fig. 4 is a sec tional view, partly in elevation, of one form of means for winding up the film. Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of oneof the film casings or holders; and Fig. 6 is a detail plan of the elbows for supporting the film casings.

The lantern may be provided with the usual casing 10 adapted to hold the receptacle for oil or other illuminant, and said receptacle may be provided with a burner 11 over which is the usual shade 12 forming a lamp member, and above the shade is a cap 13 for the purpose of properly protecting the lamp member, all of which may be of the usual or of any preferred construction.

The casing 10 may have an elbow 14 or other supporting means projecting from opposite sides thereof and supported by said elbows are the tubular members, posts, or

I casing 15 and 16 which may be supported by the elbows or parts 14 in any desired way. These tubular casings or devices 15 and 16 may be supported at their upper ends by the flange 17 of the cap 13, and said devices 15 and 16 are each slotted lengthwise thereof, as at 18, through which projects one end of a film member 19. These film members form together a twopart film, and one end of each member is fastened to a sleeve or roll 20 arranged within each of the tubular casings 15 and 16, and said sleeve or roll 20 is adapted to rotate with or between the flanges 21 so as to form a spool or roller for the film which is guided between said flanges or disks. A post or rod 22 projects through each roll 20 and around one end of said rod is a spring 23 one end of which is held to the rod and its other end is fastened to the roll or sleeve member 20, the tendency of the springs 23 being to wind the film members on the spool or roller. These film members may be a fabric, gelatin or any suitable material through which a colored light may be produced, and when the film members are in the position shown in Fig. 3, a colored light will be exposed by reason of the said film mem bers inclosing the lamp, while if the film members are wound upon their spools as shown in Fig. 2, a white light Will be ex posed, thus adapting the lantern to be quickly changed from a white light to a colored light or vice versa.

To move the film members simultaneously so as to cover the lamp member of the lantern various means may be employed. As shown the outer end of one of the film members projects through the slot 18 of the casing 16 and is fastened to a vertically arranged bar or rod 24, and the other film member which is adapted to be wound within the casing 15 is held to a bar or member 25. These bars are held to one or more rings or devices 26 which encircle the lamp member of the lantern, and these rings or devices 26 are held to slide in bosses or projections 27 extending inwardly from the tubular casings 15 and 16 so as to form guides and bearings therefor. A handle, as 28, may project from one of the film bars, as 24, and said handle is adapted to be engaged by a catch or clasp 29 arranged on the tubular casing 15. As will be seen when the bar 24 is forced around the lantern by means of the handle 28 it will rotate the rings 26, and this will cause both film members to move simultaneously, and when the bar 24is adjacent to the clasp 29 it may be forced past the same so as to hold the film in position to change the color of the light of the lamp member, the said rings serving as circular guides for the film members.

The tubular casings 15 and 16 may be sup- 7 ported in any desired way, and the upper end of the rod 22 of each roller may be guided in an opening in one of the caps 30, one of the said caps being detachably held to each of the casings by a pin 31, which is adapted to fit into an L-shaped slot 32 of said casing so that said cap may be quickly removed from or be held to each of the tubular casings, while the lower end of each rod 22 may be made polygonal, as at 33, and is adapted to fit in a similarly formed opening 34 in a disk 35, Fig. 6, which serves as a cover for the upper end of each of the elbows or devices 14, and said end 33 and the opening 34 serves to hold the rods 22 stationary to give proper tension to the springs 23 when the film members are forced about the lamp member, the flanges or disk 21 being secured to the rod 22 or to the sleeve or roller member 20 as desired.

The lantern may have a handle 36 the ends of which are held to the casings 15 and 16, and arranged about the lantern may be guards or guard wires 37 to protect the lamp member and other parts.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple and efficient lantern is provided in which a film comprising one or more members may be made to move about the lamp member so as to change the color of the light thereof; that said lantern may be easily made and assembled; that by constructing the lantern so as to adapt it to perform the function of producing lights of different colors the objections incident to the use of the ordinary lantern are overcome and the liability to accidents avoided; that by employing the film there will be no necessity for the use of different lamps for exposing different lights; and that lanterns constructed as set forth will reduce the number of devices required, and will permit each lantern to be used for various purposes.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a lantern, the combination with a lamp member, of oppositely disposed tubular devices supported thereby, a spring roller in each device, two film members, one of said film members held at one end within one of said devices and the other film member held at one end within the opposite tubular device, and means for simultaneously moving the film members about the lamp member on opposite sides thereof to change the nature of the light.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a lamp member, supporting means projecting on opposite sides of said lamp member, a tubular casing supported by each of said projecting means, a spring roller located within each tubular casing, a film member held at one end to each roller, a vertically arranged bar held to the other end of each of said film members, means for holding the bars of the film members to move in unison, and means for holding one of the bars with the films in an unwound position.

3. A lantern comprising a lamp member, supporting means projecting on opposite sides of said lamp member, a tubular casing mounted in each of said supporting means, a roller located within each tubular casing, a film member held at one end to each roller, a vertically arranged bar held to the other end of each of said film members, and means for holding the bars to move in unison.

4. A lantern comprising a lamp member, supporting means projecting on opposite sides of said lamp member, a tubular casing mounted in each of said supporting means, a roller located within each tubular casing, a film member held at one end to each roller, a vertically arranged bar held to the other end of each of said film members, rings for holding the bars of the film members together, and means for moving the rings to move the film members to an unwound position.

5. A lantern comprising a lamp member, supporting means projecting on opposite sides of said lamp member, a tubular casing mounted in each of said supporting means, a spring roller located within each tubular'casing, a film member held at one end to each roller, means forming a part of'the rollers to 3 guide the film members, a vertically arranged bar held to the outer end of each of said film members, means for holding said bars to move in unison and means for holding mounted in each of said supporting means, a spring roller located Within each tubular casing, a film member held at one end to each roller, means forming a part of the rollers to guide the film members, a vertically arranged bar held to the outer end of each of said iUm members, and means for holding said bars to move in unison.

7. In a lantern, the combination with a lamp member, of tubular casings located on opposite sides of the lamp member, means for supporting the same, a tubular roller member located in each casing, a rod located within each roller member and normally fixed within the tubular casing, springs forcing the roller members in one direction, a film member having one end attached to each roller member, and means whereby the film members may be moved against the action of the springs.

8. In a lantern, the combination with a lamp member, of a tubular casing, an L- shaped device for supporting the same at one end, a tubular roller member, a rod located within the roller member and having one end held to the L-shaped device, a cap for the tubular casing forming a support for the upper end of said rod, a spring forcing the roller member in one direction, a flexible device having one end attached to the roller memher, and means whereby the flexible device may be moved against the action of the spring about the lamp member to change the color of the light.

9. In a lantern, the combination with a lamp member, of a plurality of film members, means for supporting the ends of the films, means for causing the film members to move in one direction, a vertically arranged bar held to the end of each of the film members, rings held to said bars whereby the two bars may be moved in unison, guides carried by the supporting means of the film members, and means for engaging one of the bars to retain the film members when moved about the lamp member.

This specification signed and witnessed this 4th day of December A. D. 1908.

FRANK W. KOCH. JOHN H. MAYFORTH.

Witnesses:

W. A. TOWNER, Jr., E. KRAMER. 

